Mr. J

Student loan debt is getting out of control. So much so that it is in the $1 trillion mark on the amount of student loans. Let's hope that the government wipes out student loans for good so we can move on from this debt.

Mr. J

50cent once said, "I don't think ambition is a learned behavior. I think it's part of a person's natural character." The question I ask in this vlog is, "do you think ambition is part of a person's natural character?"

Mr. J

Listen as I discuss why passion is part of the process. People will try to get you away from chasing your dreams and doing something that you are passionate about but what people forget is that passion is part of the formula.

Last night's Facebook live I discussed LeBron "King" James turning his $1million investment in Blaze Pizza into $25million after a private equity firm invested in the company. How to be an entrepreneur in your own right, and establishing SMART financial goals.

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Mr. J

Mr. J Real Talk Vlog Episode 2 is all about writing SMART Financial Goals. SMART is the acronym for Specific, Measurable, Action-0riented, Realistic, Time-Based. Every financial goal that you create must be written down a specific goal, measure the amount, take action towards that goal, be realistic, and have a deadline.

Mr. J

​Earlier this week I received my copy of The Economist, The future of learning: How technology is transforming education. The first article under the leader's section titled, “Together, technology and teachers can revamp schools” captivated my attention from the first to the last word. As an educational technology (ed tech) advocate, user, and student of the profession I will highlight parts of the article that I agree and disagree.

The article started by stating how the ed tech has a cycle of hype and flop due to teachers and their unions along with the unproven methods of ed tech. I am assuming the writer has not talked to all teachers across the country because surely not every teacher or union is against ed tech. The hype and flop happen with any industry except in the education industry “factory methods” of teaching is still prevalent, and innovation takes a while.

The article also claims that for ed tech to function correctly in schools three things must be right: personalized learning must follow how students learn, narrows the inequalities of education, and ed tech potential relies on teachers embracing it.

I will agree on the personalized learning must follow how students learn. When a new ed tech tool comes out everyone is fascinated by the tool and when you add the “personalized learning” tag to it even more so. The tool has to do what it says it will do, and there has been actual evidence that it is increasing student’s knowledge, not just scores.

In regards to the inequalities that is up to the states to determine when every school district gets its far share. As long as school districts rely on property tax for funding, I don’t see how inequality in education will disappear. There is only so much philanthropy money to go around.

Teachers are embracing technology, but with time the newer breed of students will take over the arcane methods of “factory teaching.” All over the country, there are weekly education twitter chats such as #oklaed for educators in Oklahoma and #edchatsa for teachers in South Africa among many others that share ideas and better teaching practices. So going back to the point of teachers being the reason for the hype and flop, check out one the local ed chats to see not every teacher is to blame.

I wholeheartedly agree with the article's statement, “given what ed tech promises today, closed-mindedness has no place in the classroom.” For ed tech to work there has to be an open mind, find what works for the class, and have results not just outcomes.

Mr. J

In last night's Mr. J Real Talk show I discussed the new rules affecting credit scores, developing an elevator pitch, and private student loans.

Credit Scores
In a new ruling public records on credit reports will not affect peoples credit scores. The two public records include tax liens and civil judgements. The new rules will affect 7% of the U.S. population and will raise their scores by at least 20 points. However, the new scores does not mean that banks and other lending institutions will not look at other factors affecting credit score and history such as high credit card debt. The best things to do is lower your credit card debt, pay your taxes, and try not to get sued.

Elevator Pitch
An elevator pitch is a one minute speech to persuade a potential investor you meet in an elevator to invest in your company. In reality the elevator pitch is just a speech about your business said during a business plan competition or investor meeting. In my experience the best elevator pitches come from people who are fully invested in their company, give passion, and do not have to use notecards to give their pitch. I used a template from the Founders Institute to write my pitch for this show and you should too if your having trouble writing your elevator pitch.

Private Student Loans
If you have private student loans you may be in for some luck. The National Collegiate Student Loan Trust recently lost $5 billion in student loan paperwork. If you have a private student loan with the Trust I highly suggest you check to see if your paperwork went missing because you may be off the hook. Let's just keep our eyes and ears open for any other company who loses their paperwork.

Tune in Sunday, July 30 at 9pm CT for the Mr. J Real Talk show live on Facebook Live.

Mr. J

50cent made a guest appearance on the New York City radio morning show The Breakfast Club, where he discussed a number of topics. One verbal riff in particular was loaded with business relevance, as 50 Cent opined on the power of social media in the hip-hop industry. The artist claimed that social media has actually changed the way hip-hop artists market themselves and their music to the general audience.

Mr. J

Hip hop artists and professional athletes have something in common: Most go bankrupt during or at the end of their careers. There are only so many shoe deals, commercials, and sponsorships available for either hip hop artists or athletes, and both tend to live large.

Mr. J

Before the birth of iTunes, the career of a music artist was entirely focused on selling albums, getting their songs on the radio. Getting on tour. iTunes changed that dynamic.​Hip-Hop artists, along with the entire music industry, realized that selling albums would not guarantee financial success because people could easily download the songs for free illegally or purchase them individually from iTunes. It no longer required an album investment for a body of work. Consumers could spend less than $2.00 and buy the one song they wanted.

College students today are worried. Will their massive investment in a $100,000 liberal arts degree pay off in the future? Will the non-paying internship they’re involved with actually open the door to a career after graduation?

Mr. J

“Shark Tank,” the popular ABC business reality show (also running in syndication on CNBC) has gained fame for the pronouncements of its tough-nosed business “sharks,” such as Mark Cuban, Daymond John, and Barbara Corcoran. All are blunt with their business critiques, giving the show’s would-be entrepreneurs chills up and down their spines when they pitch their own business plans to these bigwigs, hoping for an initial investment of real money.

Mr. J

Entrepreneurship has become an increasingly popular alternative to working for an established company. Millennials do not want to work for one company for their entire careers, and they also want control of their own destiny.

Mr. J

According to The Wall Street Journal, millennials are reluctant to take sales jobs immediately after college graduation. Rarely today do newly-minted graduates and job seekers aspire to sales careers, since most people, at least in their demographic, associate sales jobs with telemarketers calling at dinner time or with sales clerks nipping at their heels at the mall.

Mr. J

Since the beginning of the 2007 housing bubble the media has been focusing on the high levels of student debt that has exceeded $1 trillion dollars. Students are graduating with mounting debt that can exceed $40,000 for an undergraduate degree and not learn a single valuable skill that will make them employable. Parents are starting to ask college administrators whether it is even worth it to send their child to college when they come out learning no new skill other than knowing how to study.

Mr. J

As a student moves into middle school, his or her creative mind starts to become more like a factory assembly line, processing information and not asking questions. This is largely due to the widespread move toward constant state testing and data gathering and decades of teacher-to-student instruction where the teacher talks and students listen without having to think on their own.

Mr. J

In July 19th, 2017 show Mr. J Real Talk discussed 50cent Effen Vodka deal, the little details of purchasing a vehicle, and how fun in the sun can turn into fun in hell.

Purchasing a Vehicle
When purchasing a vehicle it is important to look at the all the small details before making the purchase. People often over look additional costs such as local and states taxes, license plate fees, and other fees that can add up. Before making the purchase do your research, get a good interest rate on your car loan, give a sizable down payment, and make sure your total car costs do not exceed 20% of your monthly net pay. 50cent Selling his stake in Effen Vodka
Reports are saying that 50cent recently sold his minority stake in Effen Vodka, which made him a cool $60 million. This is 50cent's second successful business ownership venture, the first being the $200 million he made from Vitamin Water when it was bought by Coca-Cola.

Fun in the Sun can turn into Fun in Hell
When vacationing make sure you do your research and not go extremely cheap. There are times when spending a few extra dollars is worth every penny, for example, extra leg room on long international flights and flying direct instead of connections. Trust me spending a few dollars will not only save you the headaches but also from having to spend extra on hotels or missing flights.

As millennials, it is our dream to work for ourselves and have no boss. For many of us, that means becoming “entrepreneurs.” Media outlets have made this profession famous over the last decade—and made it sound easy to achieve success.

Mr. J

I remember the exact moment that I realized inexpensive fast food could hurt my wallet and my health.

I was living in Oklahoma City and preparing to move. I was spending a lot of money on the move, but getting everything ready left me short on time and energy to cook (packing my kitchen stuff didn’t help either). So, I ate nothing but fast food for ten consecutive days. Big mistake.

Mr. J

Three Decembers ago, I was sitting at my desk contemplating a way to ring in 2014 with a positive attitude. I was heavily in credit card debt, owed money for a car I bought in the spring, and my savings was less than $100.